The National Security Agency has grown in power since the 9-11 terrorist attacks. The secretive spy agency has faced scandals during two successive presidential administrations, first under President George W. Bush, and now under President Barack Obama. But the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' metadata began long before that, at the beginning of President Ronald Reagan's administration. In 1981, Reagan signed Executive Order 12333, which mandates the duties and foreign intelligence collection abilities of the 17 intelligence agencies in the US. The order is the superior authority guiding intelligence operations, including the ability to function outside the confines of a warrant or a court order upon approval of the attorney general. RT's Ameera David looks at how Executive Order 12333 has changed the face of government spying over the last three decades.